


Bridges & Bunnies

by VoyeurTheNinja



Category: Senki Zesshou Symphogear
Genre: Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:42:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22542697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VoyeurTheNinja/pseuds/VoyeurTheNinja
Summary: During one quiet evening in Tokyo, the members of SONG once again find themselves enjoying an undisturbed night after the exhausting events of the recent year.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	Bridges & Bunnies

Gazing at the stone ceiling above him, Fujitaka couldn't even twitch a finger as he felt warm blood quickly pool beneath him. His muffled hearing picked up the sound of clashing steel several feet away and he slowly turned his head to see Ogawa dashing amidst the eldritch monsters that had ambushed them mere seconds ago. With his eyesight growing weaker as each second passed, the swordsman was like a blur among a mass of violent colours, weaving left and right as he tore into the crowd with two blades in his hands.

But no matter how much Ogawa had cut down with each precise strike, their numbers were seemingly endless.

Past the crowd of horrors that threatened to overwhelm the speeding combatant, Fujitaka could barely make out Tomosato's silhouette as she raced to assist both him and Ogawa. Her mouth was moving – the girl was clearly shouting – but it didn't register to his ears. At this point, he couldn't feel anything below his waist, while trying to remain conscious took every bit of willpower he could muster. He was never someone that was known for his force-of-will to begin with, but he gritted his teeth and fought to keep his eyes open.

Fujitaka blinked and Tomosato was now kneeling beside him with a hand on his shoulders, clearly still shouting as Ogawa attempted to cover for the both of them. But regardless of Ogawa's skill, the mass of eldritch horrors drew near, and Fujitaka swallowed a lump in his throat to utter a few last words.

"H-Hey… you know…" Darkness began to shroud his vision, Tomosato's face now barely visible as he tried to interpret what emotions were registering upon her face, "I've… I've always…." His throat hitched, and in that moment, he grew cold. The last thing he felt was Tomosato's hands clutching onto his bloodied leather armor, desperately shaking him to try and stay conscious.

* * *

"…. And that's another failed Death Save," Fujitaka grumbled as he looked at the 20-sided die on the table in front of him, the side numbered '1' staring back at him like the words written on a tombstone. That was the 7th single-digit roll he made tonight, and his third character killed this month, "I think these dice hate me," he uttered before bringing a half-empty can of beer to his lips.

"Oh, don't be like that," sitting on his right, Tomosato laughed before clapping him on the back. Next to his dice, the sheet of paper that had his character's name, skills, class and other information written on it suddenly felt more like a tragic memento instead of a Character Sheet, "You could always just make another one and say he's your old char's dead brother."

**"Again?"**

Sitting across the table from Fujitaka, Elfnein meekly peeked out from behind the small cardboard screen that she had placed in front of her. Behind the screen were all sorts of notes, maps, dice and tiny, grey miniatures of fantasy creatures and characters, "D-Do you all want to start over from the beginning of the mission? I may have overestimated your odds of success again…"

Fujitaka shook his head, his cheeks already beginning to turn red as several empty cans sat in a bin between him and Tomosato, "Nah, I'm good. I'll just write up a long-lost cousin or something."

"Your character has quite the extensive family tree," Ogawa commented with what seemed to be genuine awe as he sat on the SONG operator's left, a cup of hot green tea in hands and a friendly smile on his face, "The men of the Xpen'Dable bloodline must have been quite popular to have garnered so many descendants," his praise somehow felt more painful to listen to than Tomosato's snark when his first and second characters bit the dust. At this point, even she couldn't help but pity his luck when it came to dice.

With the four SONG members sitting around the table of Fujitaka's living room, chatter filled the air as a decently large mat had been placed in the middle of the table. Small miniatures of what looked like a cross between a fantasy monster and a Noise surrounded three other miniatures that represented Fujitaka, Tomosato and Ogawa's characters respectively. Even though this was already the 7th night in which the four members of SONG had gathered for a fantasy game that Elfnein had discovered about a month ago, the fact that neither of them were currently sitting in a submarine on a weekday still felt unusual.

"You know," Fujitaka began as he started scribbling out the name, class and stats of his new character, "Why don't we ask some of the girls to join us when they're free sometime? I feel like just playing with the three of us is why we're getting our asses kicked a lot."

"It's just you that's getting the ass-kicking, you know," Tomosato remarked with a laugh, earning a small glare that went unnoticed as she gleefully downed another can, "Besides-" she wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her shirt and glanced down at the small miniatures that Elfnein had both commissioned and painted all by herself, "You think they'd notice something?"

"I am unsure of what you are talking about, Tomosato," Ogawa said, a bit lost as he followed her gaze while Fujitaka gave a sigh.

The miniature that represented Ogawa resembled a samurai of black, white and blue, various blades placed around his body to the point of impracticality. The one that Tomosato owned resembled a Shaolin monk with an orange robe, little-to-no armor, a large staff, and bloodied wraps that covered her forearms. Lastly, Fujitaka's one looked like a character straight out of Robin Hood, with a red cloak, armor made out of tanned animal hide, and a bow held in his hand as a quiver sat in his back. Currently, the first two stood upright among a horde of 'Noise' while Fujitaka's miniature lied face-down on the ground.

"This is clearly what the internet described as the 'ideal party', is it not?" Ogawa turned to Elfnein and she gave an energetic nod.

"Correct! From what I have managed to research, many have said that this would give the most balanced results!" her eyes were absolutely beaming with energy. Ever since Elfnein had taken up this hobby as a past-time, she had been utterly engrossed in it. When she tried to share it with the rest of SONG's bridge crew, the three couldn't turn down the opportunity to spend some free time doing nothing but rolling some dice and having some fun whenever everyone was free.

The days have been nothing but peaceful ever since the Shem-Ha incident, after all.

"The work that you had put into these is second-to-none, Elfnein." Ogawa commented, picking up his miniature to admire the smooth paint-work while Elfnein sheepishly smiled behind her cardboard screen, "As for the topic of asking some of the wielders if they would like to join, I am quite sure most of them would agree to it. Although, Tsubasa, Maria and I will be quite busy with the upcoming tour."

"As long as I don't end up in the dirt for the fourth time, I'm fine with anything, really," Fujitaka shrugged as he finally finished writing out the newest sheet for his character. When he put down his pencil to reach for a fresh can of beer, his fingers grasped nothing but air, and he glanced down to his right to see that the beer pack between him and Tomosato had already been emptied. Tomosato followed his gaze and the two shared a look of genuine contemplation, "Store-trip?"

"Took the words right out of my mouth."

The two got up almost in unison and started grabbing several coats that were hung on a rack near the front door. While Elfnein and Ogawa were busy setting up everything again, the two decided to kill some time with a short trip to a nearby convenience store.

* * *

The jingle of the convenience store chimed in the air as the automatic doors slid open for the two to step out onto the sidewalk with bags in their hands. Having bought a couple beer packs for themselves, some ice-cream for Elfnein and crispy seaweed for Ogawa, Fujitaka leaned on the sidewalk-railing and mentally counted up his expenses while Tomosato helped herself to a small cup of coffee.

With his own cup of coffee held in his hands, he gazed up at the night sky above and watched the falling bits of white that slowly fell upon them, his breath visible in the cold air. At this time of night, this small area was typically quiet, with nary a person in sight for most of the time. Once again, Fujitaka found it unusual to be experiencing such a quiet atmosphere on a weekday. If this was a while back, he and Tomosato would most likely be in their stations crunching numbers while drinking instant coffee during this time and day.

"You ready to head back, or are you going to continue day-dreaming until your coffee gets cold?"

"My bad," Fujitaka chuckled, getting back on his feet while scratching the back off his head, "Just thinking about a couple of things, that's all."

"Oh? Do tell," Tomosato said with a raised brow as they began walking back to his apartment with their bags in hand. On the way back, the two quickly downed their coffee and tossed them in a recycle bin they eventually passed by, "You're not thinking about whether or not all this is going to last, are you?" her nonchalant guess caused him to meekly nod his head, "As always, you're easy to read."

"I mean, it's only natural, isn't it? This is probably the longest amount of time that we've gone without anything actually happening. It's almost..." the word Fujitaka desperately looked for danced on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He wondered if it was because he singed his tongue when he first sipped his coffee earlier, which got quite the laugh from Tomosato.

A heavy pat on the back promptly knocked him out of his funk as his colleague flashed an almost theatrical smile with her hands on her hips, "If it lasts, it lasts. If it doesn't, well, tough luck, I guess? Whether it's spending days in a submarine, or just hanging out in your apartment rolling some dice, we've got the Commander, Elfnein and the others to keep us company, don't we? It's never boring around them, after all."

Fujitaka snorted as he started to ponder about his time in SONG over the years. Ever since the organization slowly gained more and more members over time, he felt as if the days spent in that submarine passed by faster and faster, "You're right about that," turning his gaze to the street-lights of the small park that they were now passing through, his mind continued to wander over whether or not this peace would last, and he wondered what else he could do while it did, "Hey... Aoi..."

"Hmm?" the pair halted in their steps for a moment and Tomosato glanced back at him, curious, "Something else racking that head of yours?"

His lips pursed, "Maybe we could... well-" he scratched his head once more and clicked his tongue in frustration while Tomosato remained silent, the tapping of his foot filling the quiet air, "Maybe we could go for some drinks sometime? Just the two of us. Since you know, the Commander is still pretty busy, Ogawa doesn't drink, Tsubasa and Maria are probably have some plans already, and Elfnein-"

"Sure," she answered before he continued stammering over his words, "Just the two of us, yeah?" Fujitaka gave her a quick nod and she smiled, as if satisfied, "Then I'm all for it. Just don't try and drink too much. You know you can't keep up with me in that regard," turning on her heel once more, she continued heading back to the apartment and Fujitaka's body froze for a few seconds before he quickly caught up to her.

_"Can I ever?"_ he thought to himself with a smile as they exited the park and saw the apartment complex no more than a couple of minutes ahead of them. With his mind cleared for the night, the SONG operator decided to just enjoy the rest of the evening among his friends and look forward to tomorrow.

Fujitaka's fourth character was promptly killed later that night by an arrow to the heart.


End file.
